Beginning C++ Game Programming (Game Development Series) [Paperback]

Michael Dawson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1592002056 | ISBN-13: 978-1592002054 | Publication Date: May 13, 2004 | Edition: 1

This book approaches C++ from a game programming perspective unlike any other on the market. Offering a thorough and modern introduction to C++, this book is everything that an aspiring game programmer needs in order to learn the fundamentals of C++ and game programming basics. There is no programming experience necessary-the book starts at the beginning of C++ and game programming. Therefore, even readers without any previous programming experience can get as much out of the book as anyone else. Beginning C++ Game Programming presents a small but complete program for each new concept and a complete game program at the end of each chapter. It then presents readers with a final game project at the end of the book that combines most of the major topics covered. Skillfully written in an easy-to-understand manner, this book is a great place to get started with game programming.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michael Dawson, from Santa Monica, CA, is a professional writer and has worked as a programmer and game industry designer and producer. He is the author of "Python Programming for the Absolute Beginner" (Premier Press, 1592000738), which teaches newcomers programming by using games as examples. Mike earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and has worked as a programmer for a large Internet services company. He also has experience in the television industry as a staff writer for a popular sitcom.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (May 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592002056
• ISBN-13: 978-1592002054
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #349,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > C > Tutorials

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, July 29, 2004

By 

M. Fruits "Game Maker" (Kansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning C++ Game Programming (Game Development Series) (Paperback)

If you're a beginner and want a place to start programming games then this is the book for you. But be sure of one thing, no book can teach you everything, but with help from books like this one written by Michael Dawson it will help you get your foot into the door and then some. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to get into game programming and knows the basics of C++. Here is a little more info about each chapter for those of you that need it.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Types, Variables, and Standard I/O: Lost Fortune
Chapter 2 - Truth, Branching, and The Game Loop: Guess My Number
Chapter 3 - For Loops, Strings, and Arrays: Word Jumble
Chapter 4 - The Standard Template Library: Hangman
Chapter 5 - Functions: Mad-Lib
Chapter 6 - References: Tic-Tac-Toe
Chapter 7 - Pointers: Tic-Tac-Toe 2.0
Chapter 8 - Classes: Critter Caretaker
Chapter 9 - Advanced Classes and Dynamic Memory: Game Lobby
Chapter 10 - Inheritance and Polymorphism: Blackjack

I hope this helps you out.

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book with a few flaws on learning C++ using games, January 27, 2006

By 

calvinnme - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Beginning C++ Game Programming (Game Development Series) (Paperback)

Up to now, there were few decent books that taught C++ and the Standard Template Library (STL) and how to use these within a game. This book fills the void. It is a very good book that covers the required material, but it does require that you have more knowledge than an absolute beginner.
The book covers the major aspects of C++ such as inheritance and encapsulation in a very easy to understand and accessible way. The examples for the games are clear, concise, well documented, and very carefully explained. It uses nothing other than the STL to demonstrate how to implement the code, which means that anyone with a recent rev of a C++ compiler can use the book.
I subtracted a single star out of five because the chapter on pointers is insufficient, in my opinion. While the explanations and diagrams make the chapter easier to understand than many books, pointers are still made more complex than is really necessary. There is also no form of exception handling when "new" is used, which is a fundamental flaw with no real excuse given in the book for why is it not handled. It is too easy for new students of the language to get in the habit of letting memory handling go unchecked. Other than these flaws, I do recommend the book, especially to students who want to learn C++ for the purpose of getting into game programming.

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good start for C/C++ newbies, April 7, 2005

By 

P. R. Stabile "stabilpa" (Schaumburg, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginning C++ Game Programming (Game Development Series) (Paperback)

As I went through this book, I thought that it was very similar to the "[programming language X] for Absolute Beginners" series. It turns out that the author did, in fact, also write "Python for Absolute Beginners", so there you go.

The code snippet that is supposed to prevent the console from automatically closing upon program completion doesn't always work as intended. I wrote a method that handled this better, so no biggie.

Other than that, I think this is a good introduction for someone new to C/C++ and to programming in general.

It might be disappointing for people who want to program graphics, DirectX, OpenGL, and the like --- the programs here are strictly console. You have to start somewhere, though, and if you want to program games in C/C++, you first have to understand C/C++. This book teaches the basics of C/C++ well.

If you want to make pretty pictures and don't care what language you're doing it in, though, then Michael Dawson's "Python for Absolute Beginners" will give you more satisfaction because Python is both a serious language (several commercially successful games like "Freedom Force" have been written in Python), and easier to learn and deal with than C/C++.

It's your choice: if you want to start learning C/C++, this is a good introduction; if you want to learn game programming with graphics, start with "Python for Absolute Beginners" and then go on to a book like "Game Programming with Python".